Ethiopian Airlines flies SickKids team to Africa

Using flights donated by Ethiopian Airlines Canada in late 2017, Toronto-based SickKids Centre for Global Child Health (C-GCH) team members flew to sub-Saharan Africa to deliver important newborn and child health programs.

The donated flights were part of a gift of 24 round-trip tickets given to SickKids last December. Twelve of the tickets went to the International Patient Office and the Herbie Fund, which helps children around the world receive surgery and treatment at SickKids in Toronto, and 12 went to C-GCH for staff to travel to deliver C-GCH programs.

“At SickKids, we believe where you live shouldn’t determine if you live,” said Seanna Millar, senior vice-president of community & corporate partnerships at SickKids Foundation, at the time of the donation. “We are grateful for donated flights by Ethiopian Airlines Canada as their commitment helps enable SickKids to fight against the greatest challenges in child health.”

In a recent trip to Mali, members of the International Program Evaluation Unit at C-GCH met with regional and national Ministries of Health and NGOs to discuss their on-going project to strengthen maternal, newborn and child health in Mali’s Koulikoro and Sikasso regions.

In a trip to the Afar region of Ethiopia, C-GCH’s Capacity Building team assessed the training gaps of health workers working with small and sick newborns.

“The team is planning to deliver a 12-day training for health workers to manage life-threatening complications during the neonatal period,” said C-GCH Project Manager Laura Lewis-Watts. “So, this visit was essential to further collaboration with local NGO partners and to plan the delivery of the training.”